Funding intervals by exchange: 1, 4 or 8 hours
A funding rate without an interval means nothing: 0.01% per hour is eight times more than 0.01% per 8 hours. The payment interval differs not only between exchanges but also between contracts on the same exchange. Below is how it is actually distributed across 37 exchanges and what follows from it for trading and arbitrage.
In short
- 4 hours is now the most common interval. In the scanner snapshot of 22 October 2026, out of 15,230 contracts 47% pay every 4 hours, 42% every 8 hours and 11% every hour.
- On centralized exchanges (CEX) the interval is set per contract: almost everywhere it is a mix of 4 and 8 hours. On Binance 79% of contracts already pay every 4 hours.
- Perp DEXs mostly pay every hour: Hyperliquid, Lighter, Extended, Backpack, Pacifica, Apex, Aevo and others.
- The classic 8 hours dominates on HTX, Phemex, GRVT, Gate, OKX and Bitget, but even there a quarter to a half of contracts are on 4 hours.
Table: funding intervals by exchange
The share of an exchange’s perpetual contracts with each payment interval. Counted are the contracts present in the SpreadScope scanner (USDT/USDC and USD perps of coins that form pairs with other exchanges); snapshot of 2026-10-22.
| Exchange | Type | Contracts | 1h | 4h | 8h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gate | CEX | 1005 | <1% | 42% | 58% |
| MEXC | CEX | 949 | <1% | 52% | 47% |
| BingX | CEX | 880 | 1% | 51% | 47% |
| Bitget | CEX | 822 | <1% | 46% | 54% |
| LBank | CEX | 820 | <1% | 56% | 44% |
| Bybit | CEX | 796 | <1% | 48% | 52% |
| XT | CEX | 762 | <1% | 57% | 43% |
| Ourbit | CEX | 755 | <1% | 59% | 40% |
| Bitunix | CEX | 739 | <1% | 60% | 40% |
| KuCoin | CEX | 693 | <1% | 61% | 38% |
| Binance | CEX | 523 | <1% | 79% | 20% |
| OKX | CEX | 506 | <1% | 42% | 58% |
| BloFin | CEX | 503 | <1% | 58% | 41% |
| HTX | CEX | 391 | 4% | 24% | 72% |
| CoinW | CEX | 366 | — | 47% | 53% |
| BYDFi | CEX | 255 | 1% | 63% | 36% |
| Kraken | CEX | 204 | 100% | — | — |
| Phemex | CEX | 127 | — | 28% | 72% |
| Backpack | CEX | 91 | 100% | — | — |
| Aden | DEX | 890 | <1% | 40% | 59% |
| Aster | DEX | 573 | 7% | 60% | 32% |
| Variational | DEX | 557 | <1% | 54% | 45% |
| Extended | DEX | 322 | 100% | — | — |
| SunX | DEX | 293 | 3% | 40% | 57% |
| Lighter¹ | DEX | 193 | 100% | — | — |
| GRVT | DEX | 183 | — | 33% | 67% |
| Hyperliquid | DEX | 178 | 100% | — | — |
| edgeX | DEX | 173 | — | 100% | — |
| Apex | DEX | 128 | 100% | — | — |
| Aevo | DEX | 97 | 100% | — | — |
| Polymarket | DEX | 89 | 100% | — | — |
| Pacifica | DEX | 76 | 100% | — | — |
| Nado | DEX | 75 | 100% | — | — |
| Orderly | DEX | 73 | — | 48% | 52% |
| Paradex² | DEX | 66 | — | — | 100% |
| Arcus | DEX | 63 | 100% | — | — |
| Hibachi | DEX | 14 | 100% | — | — |
¹ Lighter pays every hour but its API returns the rate scaled to 8 hours. ² Paradex accrues funding continuously, with the rate set per 8-hour period. In addition, OKX has two contracts with a 2-hour interval, and MEXC and Ourbit one each with a 24-hour interval.
Why exchanges use different intervals
Funding keeps a perpetual contract’s price near the index. The more often it is paid, the faster this “pull” works and the smaller the rate per payment for the same premium. Hence:
- perp DEXs usually choose hourly payments: the rate per period is smaller and the contract price follows the oracle more closely;
- centralized exchanges historically paid every 8 hours, but move volatile and newly listed coins to 4 hours, and in some cases to 1 hour;
- when the rate hits its cap many exchanges shorten the interval: if the contract’s premium does not fit within the upper or lower bound of the rate, more frequent payments bring the price back to the index faster.
When payments happen
Payment times are usually tied to UTC day boundaries:
| Interval | Payments (UTC) | Payments per day |
|---|---|---|
| 8h | 00:00, 08:00, 16:00 | 3 |
| 4h | 00:00, 04:00, 08:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00 | 6 |
| 1h | at the start of every hour | 24 |
On most exchanges the payment is received or paid by whoever has a position open at the moment of payment (the exception is exchanges with continuous accrual, such as Paradex). Opening a position a minute before the payment and closing it a minute after means receiving or paying the full rate; holding the position for the whole period but closing a minute before the payment means getting nothing.
How to compare rates with different intervals
Rates are brought to one period — for example 8 hours or a day:
| Rate | Interval | Per 8h | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.01% | 8h | 0.01% | 0.03% |
| 0.01% | 4h | 0.02% | 0.06% |
| 0.01% | 1h | 0.08% | 0.24% |
What the rate is made of is covered in the guide to the funding rate.
What different intervals mean for arbitrage
- Payments do not coincide. In a “1h vs 8h” pair one leg pays or receives every hour, the other three times a day. Between payments the funding result is skewed, so close the pair with an eye on the next large payment.
- Compare normalized rates. The difference of the “raw” rates of two exchanges with different intervals is misleading — bring both to one period first.
- An interval change changes the yield. If an exchange moves a contract from 8 to 1 hour at the same premium, the rate per payment drops but payments become more frequent — the daily total can grow.
- A negative rate is paid just as often. For hourly contracts a sign flip hits the pair faster — see negative funding rate.
How SpreadScope shows it
In the scanner each leg shows its interval and the time of the next payment, and the rates of both legs are brought to the longer of the two periods, so the pair’s funding spread can be compared without mental arithmetic. Accumulated funding is calculated from actual payments, taking each exchange’s interval into account. Rates for a coin across all exchanges are on the funding rates page.
FAQ
How often is funding paid on Binance?
Each contract has its own interval. In the scanner snapshot of 2026-10-22, 79% of Binance perpetual contracts paid every 4 hours, 20% every 8 hours and about 1% every hour. The interval of a specific contract is listed in its specification.
How often is funding paid on Bybit and OKX?
Bybit has roughly equal shares of 4- and 8-hour contracts (48% and 52%); on OKX 42% of contracts pay every 4 hours and 58% every 8 hours (data of 2026-10-22).
Which exchanges pay funding every hour?
Hourly payments are the standard for most perp DEXs: Hyperliquid, Lighter, Extended, Backpack, Pacifica, Apex, Aevo, Nado, Hibachi, as well as Kraken futures. Centralized exchanges have hourly contracts too, but they are a few percent of the total.
What time is funding paid?
Usually on UTC day boundaries: for an 8-hour interval at 00:00, 08:00 and 16:00, for a 4-hour interval every 4 hours starting at 00:00, for an hourly interval at the start of every hour.
Do you need to hold a position for the whole period to receive funding?
On most exchanges, no: the payment goes to whoever has a position open at the moment of payment, regardless of how long it was open before. The exception is exchanges with continuous accrual (for example Paradex), where funding accrues in proportion to holding time.